


My Light

by dreamerbydawn



Series: 'Cause all of me, loves all of you [2]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec Lightwood Loves Magnus Bane, Alec learns a new language, Emotional Magnus Bane, Fluff, M/M, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Married Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:47:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24002332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamerbydawn/pseuds/dreamerbydawn
Summary: When Alec first decided he was going to learn a new language - Magnus's native tongue - just for him, Magnus had been awe struck. Even in the early days, when the words were slow and unfamiliar on Alec's tongue and the pronunciations were butchered at best, he was completely endeared.But when Alec uses an unexpected term of endearment in bed one morning, Magnus realizes he will never stop being surprised by his husband.(All works in this series are stand alone one shots, in case anyone was wondering)
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: 'Cause all of me, loves all of you [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1730911
Comments: 31
Kudos: 302





	My Light

Three years of life with Alexander, and Magnus could no longer tell what life without him looked like. Centuries of existence and a carefully cultivated lifestyle had been entirely dismantled and then promptly rearranged by his husband.

Anywhere he looked, there were signs of Alec’s influence, whether it was photographs lining the wall or the Alicante skyline outside their window, whether it was the wedding ring on his finger, or the fact that it was now routine for him to drop the glamour over his eyes once he was back home.

No one in Magnus’s life had taken the time or the consideration to carefully learn everything they could about him, no one had taken the effort to weave their life so intricately alongside his own the way Alec did. No one else knew him so entirely.

Because Alexander might not know which city Magnus spent the middle of the 19th century in, what properties he owned or when Magnus had first set foot in New York. He might not know the pages upon pages of history storied neatly into the journals Magnus still had stashed away in his estate across the sea. It was after all quite impossible to share centuries of life in less than a handful of years.

But Alec knew him, knew the drink he favoured when he was in the mood to dance and the scented oils he’d choose when he wanted to wash off a tiresome day. He knew to kiss Magnus goodnight and leave him be when he was particularly fascinated by a new translation he was working on, and to drag him forcefully to bed when exhaustion and magical depletion were chasing at his coattails after overworking himself. He knew when to wake him up with soft kisses and breakfast in bed and which Clave sanctioned dinners to sneak out of so they could ravish each other like horny teenagers.

Alec knew Magnus, wholly, intimately and in all the ways that it mattered, and he continued in his efforts to learn more each day.

His latest venture has been to learn Indonesian, something that had been kick started by Magnus himself after one particularly memorable night. In throes of passion, Magnus had accidentally reverted all the way back to the language of his mother and instead of being smug about managing that, Alexander had been curious.

He was already used to Magnus’s whispers of ‘sayang’ or ‘cintaku’ in his ears, he was familiar with pressing the words ‘aku cinta kamu’ in gentle kisses to Magnus’s lips, but apparently, it was Magnus being verbose in bed that had gotten to Alexander.

Of course the first time Alec had greeted Magnus with a stilted ‘Selamat datang di rumah cintaku’ , Magnus had been too endeared and though he’ll never admit it, a little choked up with emotion, at the best welcome home greeting he had ever received.

Since then, Alec had picked up a few more phrases and Magnus had been quizzed more than once on the meaning of words Alexander was trying to learn.

Magnus adored it of course, even in the initial days, when the words were slow and the pronunciation was butchered, Magnus had been too overwhelmed with fondness to do more than correct them with gentle kisses.

And now, a few months in, Magnus was starting to get used to peppered phrases of his native tongue in between conversations, and especially in between the sheets – which was why, it made no sense for him to freak out this way now.

The two of them were lounging in bed on a Sunday morning, Magnus resting on his side and ardently pressing kisses up and down Alec’s captive hand while his shadowhunter tried to hold on to the last vestiges of sleep. His eyes were still closed though the smile stretching on his face was enough of an indication that he was indeed fully awake.

“Saatnya bangun Alexander” Magnus murmurs, urging Alec into waking up, there were better ways to spend a morning in bed than pretending to sleep after all.

Alec only hummed a little, his hands encircling Magnus and tugging him gently on top. Satisfied with getting his way, Magnus willingly leans down to press a proper kiss into Alec’s waiting mouth, reveling in the way they were both quick to lose themselves in it.

“Selamat Pagi Cahayaku” Alec says into his mouth, opening his eyes just in time to see Magnus turn ashen and pull away, the words still ringing in his ears. 

He doesn’t remember moving away, if anything he feels stuck as the sands of time flood over him, but he must have, because Alec is sitting up in bed now, a careful hand extended towards him and a frown marring his face.

“Magnus?” Alec sounds concerned and Magnus absently wonders what expression his husband is seeing on his face, just how much shock is showing that makes Alexander looks at him with such worry.

“Magnus what’s wrong?” Alec presses, but still seems hesitant to approach any closer, and God how long had it been since Alexander had been this careful with him? It would cast him back to those days when Magnus had first dropped his glamour, that body switch with Valentine, the first days his magic had been gone, but Magnus was lost further back in his own past to make those connections.

“What - what did you say?” He asks, voice tight and barely audible.

Alec looks bewildered and lost as he blinks at Magnus, rearranging himself to scoot minutely closer while still keeping his distance.

“Good morning?” he asks doubtfully, he’s said it hundreds of times in both languages after all.

But Magnus is shaking his head before the words are even out of Alexander’s mouth “No, what did you call me?”

It is the tremor in Magnus’s voice that finally has Alec reaching forward to properly touch him again, one hand cupping Magnus’s face gently, even as he thinks over his own sentence.

“Cahayaku?” He repeats slowly, his eyes going wide when he hears Magnus keen almost mournfully in response. Even if he said it wrong, it would hardly be the first time he mispronounced a word, nothing about it should affect Magnus so.

Alec rubs a soothing thumb over the apple of Magnus’s cheek, his voice gentling infinitely “What is it Magnus?”

His own name is jarring to Magnus now, his mind torn between today and centuries past. The image of Alexander cradling his face, is almost superimposed by his mother doing the same to a much smaller version of him, and it brings tears unbidden into his eyes.

“Please, please don’t cry” Alec begs, his other hand coming up to hold Magnus’s face, urgent in the need to wipe away the tears falling rapidly.

“Ibu saya –“ The words catch in his throat and he corrects himself “My mother – she used to – she called me –“

Alexander stills, the ‘ _oh’_ of acknowledgement silent as it falls from his lips. He seems to understand the gravity of what he had just said and doesn’t seem to know what to say next. Magnus for his part is still reeling and also speechless.

“I’m sorry” Alec says after a few minutes of quiet “I won’t say it again”

And that breaks Magnus’s heart even further, the simple withdrawal more than anything jolting him back into action as he hurries to grip the hands holding his face.

“No – Alexander, you don’t understand” He says urgently, the words lapping over each other in his rush to somehow simplify the tumultuous ocean of feelings inside of him “She used to call me that because – it was my name. My birth name, it's Cahyo”

Alec’s eyes go wide, his mouth dropping open in stunned surprised, before suddenly a wide smile stretches across his face and he is beaming at Magnus.

“Cahyo” he says softly, surely, and it lands over Magnus’s heart like a solid punch “Of course, of course your name would mean light”

There’s an almost joyous bark of laughter from Alec and he leans forward to kiss Magnus on the forehead, the love shining impossibly bright in his eyes that Magnus feels like he is drowning in it.

Never in his life has he mentioned the name his mother gave him, not once has he spoken it in the centuries since. No one knows of it, not Ragnor, not Catarina, nobody alive except his father. But here Alec was, having stumbled upon the very foundation of who Magnus was, with simple ease.

“It suits you” He promises, the reassurance accompanied by another kiss to his cheek. And when Magnus is still too speechless, Alec pulls him into his chest, arms wrapped securely around him and allowing Magnus to hide away from the world in the crook of his neck. The two of them sitting there in silence with Magnus replaying the last words Alec had said that morning.

“You are my light Magnus”

**Author's Note:**

> I know i've included the translations in the story, but in case that wasn't clear, Cahaya is an Indonesian name that means Light, and Cahayaku is a term of endearment that translates to My Light. In this case, Alec chooses to call Magnus his light in Indonesian and accidentally ends up uncovering Magnus's past instead? 
> 
> Oh and Selamat datang di rumah cintaku translates to welcome home my Darling and Selamat Pagi is good morning, according to google translate. 
> 
> Does anyone have any thoughts on Magnus's birthname though? Any other suggestions or HCs for it? I'm curious.
> 
> Also, thank you to XxSei_ChanxX for the correction.


End file.
